The present invention relates generally to theft prevention apparatus for motor vehicles and more particularly to apparatus for automatically locking the hood of a motor vehicle and disabling the vehicle's ignition system whenever the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off, all without further action by the operator.
Reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,820,361; 3,744,285; 3,731,963; 3,494,156; 3,282,369; 1,933,736; 1,825,413; and 1,200,267.
Over the years many different theft prevention apparatus for motor vehicles have been developed, including alarm systems, hood locking apparatus, and ignition locking systems. Despite the disparity in designs, all such systems are intended to forestall theft of the vehicle itself or entrance into the vehicle by a thief to strip the vehicle of various components such as tape players, citizen band radios, batteries, and the like.
In prior art theft prevention apparatus, however, the operator of the vehicle has generally been required to take additional action to enable the theft prevention apparatus upon leaving the car. In many systems, the apparatus is key operated, and the operator must insert the key in a lock located on the outside of the vehicle or in some secret location in the passenger compartment. However, many times the operator does not intend to be away from his vehicle for a long period of time and the extra step required to activate the theft prevention system is not taken as a matter of convenience, leaving the vehicle unguarded.